Hari ‘Atmanirbhar’ Singh

41-Hari-Singh

Hari Singh from north Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar has a litany of ailments to deal with. He is HIV positive and diabetic, and has kidney and cardiac problems. On June 1, he got tested for Covid-19 at Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, where he works as a medical counsellor for drug addicts. He was planning to meet his daughter in Dwarka, where she had just given birth a day before. So, he thought it best to do the responsible thing. Singh, 52, had earlier got tested at Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital in March. But the hospital apparently lost his report. “My welfare is my responsibility,” said Singh. His June 1 test results came back positive.

Despite finding beds in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital and Lady Hardinge Hospital, Singh isolated himself in an empty shop on the ground floor of his building. “This is the best decision I have taken and I know I am recovering,” he said. “If I had checked into those hospitals, I would have been dead by now. They would have thrown me with other Covid-19 patients. My case needs a separate facility, otherwise I might end up with TB or something.” His only plea is to get someone to come and collect his blood samples for glucose and other tests, apart from conducting the second round of Covid-19 testing after seven days. “I am too weak to step out of my house,” said Singh. “And I have worked in Delhi hospitals for 25 years. I don’t have an iota of faith in Delhi’s government hospitals… because our healthcare system is so rotten. Most Delhi government hospitals are houses for the dead. The hospital where I work, there is no cleanliness, no one wears a mask…. I am much better off here.”

His wife and children living on the floor above have not been tested yet.